Neal, you said that "As these pockets of magma cool slowly underground, the magma becomes igneous rocks." How do these pockets cool? Aren't they called magma chambers?

You also said:
"The second type of rock is the sedimentary rock. A sedimentary rock will is actually a combination of layers of sand, silt, and dirt that have collected over the years. The video stated that many of the sedimentary rocks form in water due to the extreme amount of weather that can take place on materials in the water. Sedimentary rocks are formed mainly by the weathering of other rocks, or from the transporting of other materials such as sand, silt, and clay by water and where it is deposited. Where the material is deposited is where the materials will combine with years of layering to form new rocks, sedimentary rocks!"

Sedimentary rocks also are formed by the cementation of pieces of weathered rock material. As minerals leach from the rock particles, some of those minerals form natural cements that when combined with water, cement the particles together to form sedimentary rocks.

You also said that "The rocks are under tons and tons of pressure, which fosters a build up of heat." I don' think the pressure itself fosters the buildup of heat. I think that heat and pressure must be present to create a metamorphic rock, but I don't think that the pressure creates the heat....

Thanks for discussing things with me - did you read my email from last week? I submitted something last week about the video and the readings....

Stacy Strickland
HCCMS, Special Education

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate; our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

The second video was all about rocks and what make them up. Before you can understand what makes a rock, you have to know what it is. A rock, according to the video, is the inorganic parent material of soil. Essentially what that means to me is that soil is what makes up rocks along with other inorganic substances. It is estimated by scientists that you can trace a rocks existence as far back as 500 million years ago. I think that this is pretty amazing and was skeptical on how until after I watched the video. I think that it is interesting that you can age a rock by looking at the amount of radioactive material that is present in the rock.
While watching the video, I thought that being a geologist would be a rather boring job, but as I continued to watch, I compared the job to that of a CSI investigator. The geologists are actually working at identifying unknown information about rocks. Much like a crime scene investigator, they are looking for clues to the questions that they have about the rocks make up, origin, and age. I guess when I look at it from that perspective; it would be a very exciting and interesting job.
Main questions that were presented in the video were: What are rocks? How do they form? How can we determine how old rocks are? How can reading rocks help us to understand the earth's past? According to the information in the video, rocks can be three different types. The first type of rock I learned about is the igneous rock.
Igneous rocks are called fire rocks and are formed either underground or above ground. Underground, they are formed when the melted rock, called magma, deep within the earth becomes trapped in small pockets. As these pockets of magma cool slowly underground, the magma becomes igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are also formed when volcanoes erupt, causing the magma to rise above the earth's surface. When magma appears above the earth, it is called lava. Igneous rocks are formed as the lava cools above ground.
The second type of rock is the sedimentary rock. A sedimentary rock will is actually a combination of layers of sand, silt, and dirt that have collected over the years. The video stated that many of the sedimentary rocks form in water due to the extreme amount of weather that can take place on materials in the water. Sedimentary rocks are formed mainly by the weathering of other rocks, or from the transporting of other materials such as sand, silt, and clay by water and where it is deposited. Where the material is deposited is where the materials will combine with years of layering to form new rocks, sedimentary rocks!
The third type of rock talked about in the video is the metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have "morphed" into another kind of rock. These rocks were once igneous or sedimentary rocks. How do sedimentary and igneous rocks change? The rocks are under tons and tons of pressure, which fosters a build up of heat, and this causes them to change. If you exam metamorphic rock samples closely, you'll discover how flattened some of the grains in the rock are. This is due to the heat and pressure in formation.
When we begin to examine a rock it is important to look at the rock and observe its color, shape, and distinguishing features that may help to identify what kind of rock it is, where it came from, and Record melting, transpiration, and read a rock to find out how it formed and the Earth's history. To determine the age of a rock it is important to look at how much radioactive material exists in the rock. You can also tell the age of a rock if it contains a fossil. This could tell you about the rocks origin and give you some history on when it formed. Studying the fossils in rocks can help you a lot. Rocks are like puzzle pieces that help us to understand the history of Earth.

Reflection of Reading (Materials and their Properties: Rocks)

What ideas from the author do you find to be the most important and useful in teaching about rocks?

I think that before you can start teaching kids about rocks, you need to first understand what it is that kids believe or think about rocks and their formations. According to the authors of the article, children have trouble distinguishing between rocks and their component minerals. They do not know that they are two separate things. Students need to understand those minerals are what help to make up rocks and contribute to their formation. I think that it is important for kids to understand how the rocks can form and the different ways that rocks are assembled. Rocks are made up of a mixture of different elements and minerals and students need to understand what those elements are and how they contribute to the formation of a rock.
By looking at the three different types of rocks and the ways that they are formed, I think that students would have a better perception of what is in a rock and what makes it up. The authors of the article break down the information on igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock formation and help to describe their formation in language that kids will understand.
Another important aspect of studying rocks understands the rock cycle and how it influences the creation of new rocks. When studying the rock cycle you will need to explain to students how weathering, heat, and compaction play a role in rock formation and can determine the type of rock created. Are their layers? Is the rock crystallized? All of these questions can help students to analyze how the rock was formed and where it originated from. Experimenting with models of weathering and creating folds and faults to examine what takes place will also help students to visualize the creation of rocks.

Let me know what you think...

Thanks again for talking about this with me and sharing your ideas. Any one else who wants to join in...it would be great. Neal Utesch

>>> "strickland-stacy" <strickland-stacy@harris.k12.ga.us> 3/15/2007 12:12 pm >>>
Is there anyone out there for session 2 discussion? Neal and I discussed Session 1 yesterday and I would like to invite others to join in!

Stacy Strickland
HCCMS, Special Education

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate; our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."